Here is the Collegebasketballeyetest.com Top 25 (left) versus the latest USA Today Coaches Poll (right).

Left out:

Arizona

Arizona’s guard play scares us.  Gabe York has been forced into situational point guard duties, but he performs best when squaring up off-the-ball.  Allonzo Trier has been coming on as of late, but an even split 1-1 against non-conference RPI top 50 teams (Providence, Gonzaga) doesn’t thrust you into our top 25.

Monmouth

Monmouth and Seton Hall were honestly a toss-up.  Both teams have a similar flavor.  They remind us of recent, underestimated Tri-state teams which have overachieved (Iona, Siena, Manhattan) in the tourney.  They are guard-heavy, penetrate with a quintessential “city game,” and beat opponents to lose balls.  In this case, Seton Hall has more size (Angel Delgado averages 10.5 and 9.9) and gets the nod.

Duke

Don’t be fooled by the top 20 ranking.  Not coincidentally, Duke has a primetime ESPN Network matchup against #5 UNC on Wednesday.  Until this team gets Amile Jefferson back, we see their identity explained better with the three game losing streak (at Clemson; hosting Notre Dame, Syracuse) instead of the win at home versus #7 Virginia.